Technology and infrastructure in regional development policies and the evolution of regional disparities: The case of New Brunswick, 1986-1996.

Abstract

Regional development has long been an important function of governments. Throughout the years, Canada has followed many different policy directions aimed at reducing or eliminating regional disparities. In 1988, the Liberals under Frank McKenna were elected in New Brunswick and introduced regional development policies based on technology provision and infrastructure which was installed in all of the province's regions. This technology-based infrastructure was an important change in direction for a province that relied heavily on the primary and manufacturing sectors. Furthermore, it promised economic growth in both the north and south of the province. This thesis analyses the growth in industrial sectors, the socio-economic changes, and the effects on regional disparities between 1986 and 1996 in New Brunswick's fifteen counties. The widespread use of technology and the attempts to transform the province's labour force to compete in the knowledge-based economy prompted numerous changes in the industrial structure of the counties. The concentration of economic growth in the southern counties and in the services sector was a direct result of the north's dependence on primary and secondary industries. This resulted in investments in New Brunswick that were mainly in the highly urbanised and economically diversified south. The province's economic situation during this time period is a good example of core-periphery relationship between the south and the north, as the later remains dependent on the former. A number of different indicators, analysed in chapter three, were considered when determining the rate and degree of change in the province's regional disparities. Furthermore, the shift-share analysis examines the changes in the industrial sectors of the counties to determine why the changes in the economic indicators occurred.